UK light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi secured a victory yet underwhelming beginning to life under recent management with a unanimous decision over Zach Parker in the Manchester arena.
The Olympic medal winner's punch output seemingly secured him a judges' verdict in a close 10-round bout at the Manchester venue.
But the challenger had his moments, delivering effective individual punches in a fight where the techniques failed to mesh, with frequent clinching marring the action.
Two judges scored it 96-94 in favor to Buatsi, with the final judge a even score.
"It wasn't my finest showing but what defines champions? They win," Buatsi commented in the ringside as he was faced negative reactions from the crowd.
The Londoner bounced back after his maiden career setback - an thrilling contest with Callum Smith in last winter - to earn a 20th career victory.
Several boxing experts felt Parker, thirty-one, merited the decision but the Derbyshire fighter suffered the second defeat of his 28-match professional journey.
Buatsi Claims Triumph in Dull Affair
Buatsi's progress has slowed in the past few years through management issues and extended periods of inactivity.
Once tipped as the next star of UK boxing, he now is positioned trying to achieve expectations - possibly in what seems like a ultimate opportunity - under new promotional backing.
He opened tentatively, with both competitors willing to take risks in a tentative early stages.
Parker, whose only previous defeat came at the lower weight class against John Ryder in 2022 after damaging his hand in the contest, was competing in only his second bout at light heavyweight.
By the middle rounds, Parker had stayed in contention, making life awkward for the favorite, who worked behind a solid defense to edge the more effective periods.
The audience's tolerance diminished during frequent holding, with the challenger going down various instances during grappling.
The underdog closed well, but multiple periods were hard to judge. Although, former world champion the boxing analyst - commentating on Dazn - had it particularly wide for Parker, scoring for Buatsi just a single round.
The victor moves on, but with the caliber of hard hitter David Benavidez, and Russian champion Dmitry Bivol ruling the division, the road to world glory - based on this performance - still appears challenging.
Hatton Tribute Motivates Local Rivalry Contest
In the secondary fight, Lyndon Arthur beat Rea by close verdict in a outstanding local rivalry fight to secure the European light-heavyweight belt.
The stadium fell silent for a extremely emotional tribute before the fight as 10 bells tolled in honor of the city's native Ricky Hatton, who died aged 46 in recently.
It was the initial significant broadcast match card in the city since Hatton's death. As the concluding sound disappeared, the stillness became a chant of "there's only one Hatton".
The competition inside the ropes reflected the feeling. Arthur was sent to the canvas by a powerful punch flush on the chin in the early round, standing uncertainly to his feet on the count of eight.
But the red-colored equipment of Arthur soon came forward again. Across the ring, Rea - in rival City blue - was damaged early, noticeable damage forming under his eye as the duo landed powerful shots.
The challenger, twenty-seven, delivered effective strikes but Arthur, 34, responded in kind with effective uppercuts as the action rarely dropped over twelve rounds.
Arthur edged the decision with official scores of draw, narrow lead and wider gap, but the two athletes were determined and full of heart, all the qualities their hero Hatton represented.
